Report: Libyan aid ship to sail to el-Arish, not Gaza

Jul 10, 2010, 10:24 GMT

Jerusalem - A Moldavian-flagged, Greek-owned cargo ship carrying aid from Libya which had intended to sail to the Gaza Strip will instead dock in el-Arish on the coast of the Sinai peninsula, Israel Radio reported Saturday morning.

The change in destination, agreed by the ship's captain, followed talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Greek and Moldavian counterparts, the report said.

The ship, the 'Amalthia' is due to depart from the Greek port of Lavrio, with 12 crew and 15 activists and supporters on board, and about 2,000 tons of humanitarian aid supplied by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Association, which is headed by Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the second-born son of the Libyan leader.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriella Shalev, asked the world body Friday to step up efforts to prevent the ship from setting sail.

'Israel calls upon the international community to exert its influence on the government of Libya to demonstrate responsibility and prevent the ship from departing to the Gaza Strip,' she wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

'Israel reserves the right under international law to prevent this ship from violating the existing naval blockade on the Gaza Strip,' Shalev told Ban Ki Moon.

Eight Turkish nationals and one US citizen of Turkish descent were killed in May after Israeli commandos boarded their aid ship which was heading to Gaza, sparking a diplomatic row between Turkey and Israel.